Cygnus's Flight Redux
by Myrna Abenstern
Summary: Wanting to escape an unwanted marriage and wanting to know the fate of his brother Prince Shun makes an agreement to be the companion of Captain Hyoga of the Lady Swan. However things aren't nearly as simple as he thought they were going to be. Between the mess of fate, interfering constellation guardians, treasure and mythology coming to life, this might have been a bad idea.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: If you're wondering where all my stories are, I took them down to do a rewrite of everything because I felt several of them are below my current ability levels, so I felt the need to redo them. I also changed some stuff because I wanted Shun's culture to be a bit more Greek feeling.

Shun's voice was soft as he murmured a prayer to Hermes, kneeling in the temple of the travel god, ears keened for any sound of someone coming. If anyone was to find him here, instead of Hera's temple where they thought he was, there might be trouble. The sound of footsteps on the stone floor echoed, reaching Shun. Quickly the young prince got to his feet and rushed over to a back passage, ducking behind the door he started to walk quickly. Usually if he was careful he could avoid any of the priests who might be lurking around. After winding through passages, Shun stepped outside. The sun was starting to set now, and the city below was being painted an array of hues, the white marble buildings glistening pinks and oranges in the sunset. A soft sigh escaped Shun as he shook his head, starting to walk towards the palace from the temple complex.

At the end of this moon cycle the prince was scheduled to be married. He had met his fiancée before, but she really wasn't his type, then again women in general really weren't his type. Saori was a nice girl, there was no doubt about it, but Shun felt nothing but friendship for the foreign princess. He passed through the gates of the palace, the guards not even bothering to question him. Everyone assumed that his days that he spent in prayer were at Hera's temple, in preparation for the upcoming wedding. Not wanting to go inside just yet, Shun turned, wandering into the gardens. It was late summer now; the nights were muggy and warm. Everything seemed to be in full bloom right now, and it looked beautiful. If he had to leave the palace, this was something he would miss.

Sitting down on the edge of a stone fountain Shun looked up as the first stars started to appear in the sky. He could remember a time when his mother, the former queen, had told him old stories of the creatures in the stars. Characters like Cygnus and Pegasus, they had always been a fascination of his. However above all of the others, Princess Andromeda who'd been willing to sacrifice her own life to protect her people had been his favorite. He only wished that he shared a fraction of her strength and bravery, if he did, running off wouldn't have been his plan. As he sat there watching the stars continue to appear he began to pick out the forms of both Cygnus and Andromeda in the sky.

"You've certainly been away a lot." The voice startled him and Shun jumped visibly. Looking up he saw his half-brother Jabu standing there. "The way you've been avoiding the palace, one might think you didn't want to marry the wonderful Princess Saori." The way he said the name made Shun smile slightly. It seemed obvious that Jabu was in love with her, it was just another reason for Shun to leave, while his mother hadn't been the queen, their father had a second wife who was Jabu's mother. Though he wouldn't be inheriting the crown, even if he was older than shun.

"No, it's not that. I've just been missing him with such an important thing coming up in my life." Shun explained giving a sigh, it was often that he thought about their eldest brother Ikki. He'd been lost at sea when going on a visit of state. No one quite knew what happened, and without proof Shun believed somewhere out there Ikki must be alive.

"You need to just get over it Shun, Ikki's gone, he's been gone. Anyway, you should probably get inside and get to dinner. They'll start keeping a closer eye on you if they think you aren't eating." Jabu pointed out and Shun gave him a weak smile.

"I will, thank you for the advice. However I still refuse to believe Ikki's dead. The day I have proof is the day I will mourn his loss." Shun replied softly, it was a discussion the pair had held many times and Shun's stance was unwavering. Slowly he turned to walk inside, Jabu following close behind him as they headed to the dining hall.

Dinner seemed to take forever in Shun's mind, he wasn't too fond of how large and overly lavish everything seemed to be when they had formal dinners like this. It was less than a week until the wedding, Saori and her bridal party were already staying at the castle. Preparations were well underway at this point, and meals were the only time the pair seemed to see one another as Saori had so much she had to do.

"So have you had a nice day Shun?" She asked in her usual polite voice, she felt the same as Shun did. They were better off as friends and not as lovers. Originally she'd been Ikki's intended, so growing up she and Shun had become close. However when Ikki had vanished it seemed only natural that she'd be moved down the inheritance line. Shun was not pleased at all by this, and knew if he left things would eventually work themselves out for the better.

"Yes, it was fine. I spent most of the day praying at the temple when I wasn't doing my studies." Shun replied with a small nod. He would have made a lousy king anyway, Shun decided, because he was nowhere near able to make the impartial judgments needed. Finally once they'd finished, and small talk had dwindled Shun excused himself. Perhaps a hot shower would be good to clear his head.

Walking up to his room Shun gave a sigh of relief, as he locked the door behind him. Walking straight through the room he headed to his balcony which overlooked the sea. The soft salty breeze rushed past him carrying the distant sound of crying gulls upon it as he opened to doors and stepped outside. Taking a deep breath he relaxed, looking out onto the horizon. There was still a last glimmer of light fading in the western sky and from that he could see an unfamiliar ship which flew no flag. Suddenly a rush of excitement flooded through Shun, it seemed he'd have a way out of here after all.

AN: I feel like this is way better than the first draft


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: And the reworking of this story continues. It seems I work on this stuff at the most random hours of the day.

Shun rolled over in his sleep making a small noise and drawing the sheets up more tightly around him. He'd tossed and turned for a while before being able to fall asleep. There was a mix of excitement and nerves about seeking out the ship's captain tomorrow. Rolling over once again, Shun began to dream.

The landscape around was vast and snowy, snow was something Shun had seen very rarely, looking around he held out his hand. A few of the soft white flakes fluttered into his hand and he watched it melt I his palm. It was surprising that he wasn't cold, looking down he saw that he was only wearing his long night shirt. "I see that you've finally come Andromeda."

Turning quickly Shun nearly cried out, behind him was a giant swan. The first thought in his mind was a flashback to the story of Leda and Zeus. He backed up quickly before slipping and falling on his backside with a squeak. "Who? What are you?" He asked trying to scramble back and slipping on the icy patch once again.

The swan waddled over and picked up Shun by his nightshirt, setting him back on his feet. "I am Cygnus, guardian of the Northern Cross." The swan explained watching the boy. "I am not Zeus, do not fear young one."

"I don't understand, why did you call me Andromeda?" Shun asked, still trying to figure out what the heck was going on. "Why am I not cold? Where on earth has this much snow?"

"Ah, all in due time. To answer your first question each person has a constellation that guards their life, guiding them down a path or at least trying to. Each person controls their own destiny, but sometimes we try to nudge things along in the right direction." Cygnus explained sitting down and starting to groom Shun's hair in the way he'd seen swans before preen feathers.

"So you're my guardian constellation then?" Shun asked looking up at the swan, not really sure why he was just going along with this. He didn't feel threatened or scared, if anything the warm body of the swan pressing into his back was somewhat comforting.

"No, yours would be Andromeda, hence what I called you." The swan continued to explain as Shun sat their listening patiently. "You see a guardian constellation cannot directly interact with the one they watch over, however the fates of Cygnus and Andromeda have always been tied deeply since an event that happened long ago. Andromeda almost gave his life for Cygnus, and Cygnus in return protected Andromeda in his hour of need."

"I thought Andromeda in the myth was a woman though." Shun said sitting there still wondering what exactly was going on.

"Your guardian constellation has more to do with other things than your gender." Cygnus chuckled softly shaking his head before getting up. "My own that I guard most closely is going to be in danger soon, and he will need your light to guide him Andromeda." The swan got up and Shun turned getting to his feet. "I'm afraid our time runs short."

"How will I know where to find him? Will he know who I am?" Shun asked hurriedly looking up at Cygnus who reached back only to drop a rather large feather into Shun's palm.

"You will find him, you two will be drawn to each other one way or another." Cygnus explained before nuzzling Shun affectionately. "He may not be gentle and you may not like each other at first, but just trust that things will work out. Our paths are not always easy, and they can be filled with pain, sorrow, and struggles, but should you trust that things will work out they usually will."

"Thank you… I suppose. I'll try and keep that in mind, but I really need to find a way out of the city without being noticed. Can you help me with that?" Shun asked looking up at Cygnus.

"Fate has already been set in motion, all you have to do is follow it." Cygnus replied before taking off, Shun rolled out of bed and sat up wincing. Rubbing his head he looked around as a white feather fell into his lap. "Weird." Shun shrugged before getting up and picking up the feather and twirling it in his fingers before getting up. Walking out onto the balcony he saw that the ship from the night before was still in port. "The wheels of fate have already been set in motion… I wonder." Shun said softly as he walked back into his room.

Getting dressed he started to pack a few things, items that had more sentimental value, along with a large bag of gold that he could perhaps use to buy passage on that ship. Shun picked up his cloak and wrapped it around himself. It was a bit too big and had belonged to his mother before she'd passed away. He'd found it a few months ago while wandering in a little used corner of the palace. It had been tucked away in an old wardrobe and he'd taken to wearing it. It made him feel close to her and to Ikki.

Heading out he moved quickly through the halls, no one questioning him, it was assumed that he was going to the temples to pray yet again. This time he wove his way through the temple complexes and slipped out into the town, keeping the cloak up over his head. He'd just have to figure out who the captain was and where Shun could find him. He assumed the ship would be the best place to start.

OOC: Short interlude chapter, I was going to go a little longer but I'm really tired so I'll be starting on it tomorrow.


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